ING Groep NV Trims Stake in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL)

ING Groep NV lowered its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL) by 11.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,807 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Aflac were worth $2,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AFL. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aflac in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Aflac by 41.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aflac in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.44% of the company’s stock.

Aflac Stock Down 2.1 %

AFL opened at $102.04 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $104.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.99. Aflac Incorporated has a 52 week low of $78.62 and a 52 week high of $115.50.

Aflac (NYSE:AFL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.63 by ($0.07). Aflac had a net margin of 28.76% and a return on equity of 16.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Aflac Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This is an increase from Aflac’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Aflac’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aflac

In other Aflac news, EVP Audrey B. Tillman sold 24,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.40, for a total transaction of $2,558,529.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 222,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,018,701.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AFL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Aflac from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on Aflac from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Aflac from $104.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Aflac from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Aflac in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $111.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.86.

Aflac Profile

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. The company operates through Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. segments. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.